My Own Worst Enemy: Now We’re Getting Somewhere!

Thank you “My Own Worst Enemy.” I’m not sure if this show can last past one season, but who ever thought things would actually start getting interesting. This week, the writers followed my advice or maybe it reached them through osmosis. You know, all those viewers screaming at the TV for an hour. We got to see more of Dr. Skinner, and the family’s B-story, while not completely dropped, actually had something to do with the struggle between Edward and Henry and wasn’t boring!

With the disappearance of last week’s Agent Proctor, Janus is growing increasingly suspicious that Edward may be broken, especially the big boss Trumble. Since Proctor was a Watcher, an agent tasked with figuring out if Edward was malfunctioning, it’s not a leap to say that he could’ve found out ergo Edward could’ve killed him. If only upper management knew that Skinner pulled the trigger. Saffron Burrows is smoking hot this week as AJ Sun, therapist/ head of systems management for Janus. She’s charged with interrogating Edward about his knowledge or involvement in said Watcher’s disappearance, and she helps him pass the lie detector test. Does any else think of Giles from Buffy?!

Since Edward is in the clear, he’s paired with Paula, a female agent, to find and rescue Raymond. She is not privy to Edward’s issues, and he’s not too happy to be put in a situation where she can find out that Henry butts his head in at all the wrong times. This, of course, foreshadows exactly where the episode is heading. Like clockwork, Henry pops up just as everyone is about to escape, and his confusion gets Paula shot. In the midst of all the hoopla, he manages to break the one cardinal rule. In front of Paula, he says his name is Henry Spivey. You’d think, by now, he wouldn’t be so eager to use his “other” name.

The rest of the hour, our core team discusses whether Paula should be terminated before she wakes up. Edward would rather kill her. Henry doesn’t want any more blood on his conscience. Mavis doesn’t do much, and Raymond would rather see Henry dead but would back Edward any day, especially since he is the one who rescued him from a Chinese Fort Knox. However, there’s only one agent, and it’s not Mavis, who will go above and beyond to help Edward.

The big reveal is that Dr. Skinner and Edward are actually lovers, and it took a lot for him to pass that lie detector test and say he didn’t have a girlfriend. Who would have known? Although, they’re the only two on this show who I’d actually want to see get it on between the sheets! In the end, Paula does remember Henry, and she outs him in front of Skinner and Trumble.

Later, the Doc returns to the hospital, wakes Paula’s counterpart Ellen and implants all of Paula’s memories in her to the point where she snaps. We’ve seen what happens when real life persona meets spy world for the first time, and it’s not pretty. It’s more like a super nova meltdown.

There’s some excuse about Paula diverting her malfunction onto a possible Edward malfunction to diminish the spotlight on herself, which I don’t really buy. The effect is Paula thrown under the bus while Edward/Henry is saved. After all the writers achieved, I can forgive that quick and neat wrap-up. The up side is we find out what happens when an operative is terminated because of Paula’s sacrifice. They’re not snuffed out. Well, not exactly. The spy side is snuffed out while the unremarkable side gets to lead a complete and fulfilled life, and they’re none the wiser.

In family life, Spivey son Jack lies about his after-school activities. Edward jokes that Jack has some of his genes, and this makes Henry feels as if he’s losing his son. His family is the one thing that is all his. Instead of taking guitar lessons, Jack’s been practicing martial arts. It’s not the seedy underground type of fighting. It’s more like what you’d do if you took karate classes and then participated in an exhibition. And he’s really good. After seeing firsthand how his son loves the sport, he realizes that even though this makes Jack a little more like Edward and less like Henry, he supports it because of the great dad he is.

I asked “My Own Worst Enemy” to step it up, and I was pleasantly surprised by this episode. I enjoyed the ride this week. Let’s keep the upward momentum NBC!

Unbelievable Lines of The Week:

“Do not look around. I recorded a message that has been transmitted through a concentrated acoustic energy beam in the penlight. You’re the only one who can hear this.” – Dr. Skinner

“I injected us with a little nanovirus. It’s completely harmless for the moment. However if Janus ever tries to terminate me the electromagnetic field they use will activate the virus and you will die.” – Edward

Season 1, Episode 4: This is not my son (originally aired November 10, 2008)

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Photographs courtesy of NBC